What paint should I use to coat a plastic surface cabinet?

[pressthebutton]

Hi guys!


I need an advice for what paint should I use to coat a plastic surface cabinet.

The plastic is very well glued to the plywood, very solid.

Should I do a bit of sanding first, before applying the paint?

What tools should I use for painting and sanding?


Thank you!

P.B.

[johnvv]

If the surface really is plastic, then use plastic paint.  Krylon Fusion for plastic has many colors and works very well.  (http://www.krylon.com/main/product_template.cfm?levelid=5&sub_levelid=10&productid=1751&content=product_details)

It would also be a good idea to stop at a good quality local paint store and see what they recommend for plastic.  If they can't help with surface prep, a local art store might.

[pressthebutton]

Hi johnvv,

thank you for the advice.
I went to a local paint store and the seller recommended to sand the plastic then to apply a water based primer to avoid damage to plastic since it can react to petrol based paint, even melt...so he said. 
I've applied the first and second coat of white primer. I'll post some photos here (before and after). It looks OK to my eyes and the primer seems to have done the job just fine.
Next step is to apply two coats of black matte paint and hope that everything comes to place. or not

P.B.

[bigh4th]

I doubt that your water-based primer is gonna stick to the plastic.   Painting plastic is tricky as you need chemicals in the paint that will bond to the plastic under it, hence krylon fusion.  Ricers LOVE this stuff as they can now paint the dashboard of their honda civics to match the rest of the car without it looking like it was dragged through a briar patch in 2 months time.

After your primer dries, scratch it with your fingernail.  It will probably scratch of very easily.  If so, you can expect the rest of the cabinet to look like crap in short order.

If not, go for it.

That said, if it doesn't stick, you can always use the krylon fusion primer and then you should be able to use whatever other kind of paint you want on top of it.

-Harry

[pressthebutton]

Hi bigh4th,

I'm preparing to do the fingernail scratch test to the water-based primer. That will dictate if I have to resort to Krylon paint.
If that confirms that leaves me with a new problem: where to buy Krylon paint in Portugal - Europe.
Well, I'll cross my fingers while putting the old fingernail to work.
Here it goes...

P.B.

[Daniel B.]

krylon fusion is just an example for paint for plastics. It's been around a few years. I'd bet someone else has a comparable product out by now, otherwise you may be looking at dye, or a laminate.

[pressthebutton]

Hi guys!

Looks like the water-based primer did the job just fine.
It doesn't come off easily, I can even say that it's hard to come off unless you really want to take it off by scrubbing like a madman and by setting your mind to destroy 
A very fine coating if I may say so. It sticks really well to the sanded plastic.
I'm going to ask a friend of mine to take some photos of the present stage so I can post here.
I've got some early photos that I'll also post in this thread for comparison and progress analysis.

Stay tuned... and thank you !!

P.B.

[unclet]

I think "waveryder" painted his plastic BubbleGum Betty cabinet ...... and his looks great.  I would ask him what he used.

(EDIT)
Yeah, his first post in the following thread indicates it is plastic ..... perhaps reading the thread will tell you what he used....

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=66932.0
(EDIT)

[pressthebutton]

Here are some pictures taken on the day I purchased this "super video" cabinet from a local vendor, for 50 euros. It was running a pinball game, but the game board was removed before the sell. And let me tell you, it was really hard to find. Most vendors don't seem to be interested in selling cabs unless the business is worth wild. I came to a point in which I was seriously considering building a cab from scratch.
Inside the cab there is a sticker that says: model » Frankenstein / serial blah, blah / Made in Portugal. Now that's very inspiring!!
As you can see (I hope) a plastic sheet was industrially glued into the plywood, to resemble wood. I didn't like that look so I decided to transform the "wooden" Frankenstein cab into a more neutral looking black matte cab (pictures soon). 

P.B.